Headgear friction joint device for welding shields



22, 1933 F. M. BoWERs 291119747 HEADGEAR FRICTION JOINT DEVICE FOR WELDING SHIELDS Filed Oct. 1, 1937 2 Sheec-Shee 2 INVENTOR. EEZ/CKM Eon/.5a BY 1 Patented Mar. 22, 1938 UNITED STATES HEADGEAR FRICTION JOINT DEVICE FOR WELDING SHIELDS Frederick M. Bowers, Chester, Pa.

Application October 1, 1937, Serial No. 166,797

5 Claims.

This invention relates to welding shields and.

similar protective devices, and is concerned primarily with that type of a shield in which the shield or mask that protects the front of a person's head is pivotally mounted on a headband.

When a shield of the character above noted is worn, the headband is snugly and more or less positively positioned on the head of the wearer. The mask or shield which covers the wearers face is pivotally mounted on this headband, as it must be swung into and out of effective shielding position many times during the course of welding operations.

The present invention has in view as its foremost objective the provision of a friction device which is designed to be located at the pivotal mounting of the shield for creating frictional resistance to swinging movement of the mask whereby the mask will remain in any adjusted position. I s

It is now a known practice in this art to em ploy a headband that includes as an essential part thereof a cross strip that fits over the top of the head of the wearer. This strip is anchored at each end to the band that goes around the head of the wearer. Heretofore it has been the practice to turn back the extremity of the cross piece beyond the connection of the latter to the headband, and anchor the free extremity to the cross piece, thus providing a loop formation at each side of the headband, and the mask itself has been pivotally mounted to the outer side pieces of these loops.

In accordance with the present invention the loop construction is eliminated and replaced by bracket strips that are anchored at one end to the cross piece of the headband, and which are pivotally connected at their free ends to the mask. Interp-osed between the free ends of these bracket strips and the headband are the frictional devices of the present invention.

The invention has in view as a further more detailed objective the provision of a friction device of the character above noted which may be readily adjusted 'to' vary the friction afforded thereby. In carrying out this idea in a practical embodiment it is important that the friction device itself retain any condition into which it may be adjusted, and a further more detailed object of the invention is to provide a device which will 7 satisfy this condition.

be hereinafter stated, as the description of the invention proceeds. 1

The invention, therefore, comprises a friction device that is adapted to be located at the pivotal mounting of a welding shield mask on a headband. This friction device is effective to establish frictional resistance to swinging movement of the shield with respect to the headband whereby the shield may be swung into any dcsired'position and be retained in that position by the friction device. The friction device of this invention includes as characteristic features the ability to be adjusted to vary the frictional resistance afforded thereby, and to retain any adjusted position.

For a full and more complete understanding of the invention reference may be had to the following description and accompanying drawirigs, wherein Figure l is a view in side elevation of a welding shield which includes friction devices of the present invention,

Figure 2 is aview taken at right-angles to the showing of Figure '1, looking at theshield from the back,

Figure 3 is an enlarged detailed showing taken as a vertical section through the pivotal mounting for the shield at one side,

Figure 4 is an elevational showing of the several elements making up the friction device in an exploded relationship, 7

Figure 5 is a detailed showing of part of the welding shield immediately about the pivotalmounting therefor,

Figure 6 is a sectional showing somewhat similar to Figure 3 of a modification,

Figure "7 is a view in side elevation developing the several elements of the modification of Figure 6 in an exploded relationship,

. Figure 8 is a view developing theformation of the opening in the shield,

Figure 9 is a viewde-veloping a further modification which may be carried out, and

Figure 10 is a view of still another modification.

Referring-now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts, a welding helmet of the type with which this invention is primarily concerned is shown in Figures 1 and 2 as comprising a shield or mask element referred to in its entirety by the reference character M, and a headband which is referred to in its entirety by the reference character H.

The headband H includes as an essential part thereof a cross piece H) thatis intended to fit over the top of the head ofa wearer. This cross piece I0 is anchored to the strip II which fits about the wearers head at each end, as represented at l2 and I3. Above the connection l2 a bracket strip I4 is anchored to the cross piece I0, as by the rivets illustrated at l5. The bracket strip 4 has a foot portion I6 that is spaced from the connection at i2, and is in engagement with the inner face of the mask M. It is this foot portion l6 of the bracket M which constitutes the pivotal mounting for the mask M at that side of the shield.

A friction device which is referred to in its entirety by the reference character D1 is interposed between the connection I 2 and foot portion It of the bracket strip I4, and this friction device D1 includes as certain essential parts thereof the pivotal mounting for the mask M, as will be later pointed out.

The structure described in the preceding paragraph is duplicated at the opposite side of the shield, which includes the bracket strip I! having a foot portion 8, with a second friction device Dz interposed between the connection I3 and foot portion I8.

Inasmuch as the friction devices D1 and D2 will be of identical construction in any complete assembly, only one of these devices needs be here described for the purpose of this specification. Accordingly reference is made to Figures 3, 4, and 5 for a more complete and detailed description of one of these devices.

The mask M is shown as formed with a circular opening l9, and on each side of the opening l9 are a pair of small recesses 20, for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

A bearing pin referred to in its entirety as 2| is formed with a head 22 the under face of which is adapted to engage the outer surface of the mask M about the hole l9. This under face of the head 22 is provided with a pair of pins 23 that are received in the recesses 29. It is evi dent that this arrangement prevents relative rotation between the pin 2| and mask M.

Immediately adjacent to the head 22 the pin 2| is formed with a cylindrical portion 24 that extends through the opening H). A washer 25 is disposed about the cylindrical portion 24 of the bearing pin 2|, and is interposed between the mask M and the foot portion l8 of the bracket strip M. This foot portion I6 is formed with an opening 23 through which the pin 2| passes.

Immediately adjacent the cylindrical portion 24 the pin 2| is formed with a non-circular section such as the square shaped part shown at 21. This square shaped portion 21 of the pin 2| is received in a complementally shaped recess that is formed in a flanged bushing 29; this bushing 29 having a flange 39 that engages the foot portion I9 about the opening 26.

From the square shaped portion 21 the bearing pin 2| is reduced in diameter and threaded for the remainder of its extent, as shown at 3|. A coil spring designated 32 is disposed about the bearing pin 3|, and has one end seated on the bushing 29 and in engagement with the flange 30. At the opposite end the spring 32 fits about a bushing 33 and engages a flange 34 that is knurled to facilitate its being gripped for rotative purposes. This bushing 33 is provided with a threaded bore represented at 35 which receives the correspondingly threaded portion 3| of the bearing pin 2|.

The bottom face of the flange portion 34 of the bushing 33 is spaced from the extremity of the cross piece H) at the connection 12.

When the foregoing parts are assembled with the bushing 33 threaded on the bearing pin 2|, the spring 32 will be under compression, and will exert a tendency to spread the bushing 29 away from the bushing 33. Thus the flange portion 30 of the bushing 29 is pressed against the foot portion l6 which engages the washer 25 on the other side, and a frictional resistance to rotative movement of the foot portion I6 is set up, and the degree of this frictional resistance is directly dependent upon the tension under which the coil spring 32 is placed. Thus by tightening the bushing 33 to further compress the spring 32 greater tension is placed on the spring, and in a converse manner the tension of this spring may be reduced.

An important feature of the above described mechanical assembly is the non-rotative relationship established from the mask M through the bushing 29. It is evident that the bearing pin 2| is held in a non-rotative relationship with respect to the mask M by the pins 23 fitting in the recesses 20, and the bushing 29 in turn is non-rotatably mounted on the pin 29 by the squared formation 2'! and the correspondingly shaped opening in the bushing 29. Thus the spring 32 cannot possibly affect the bushing 29 to cause any turning thereof.

This non-rotative relationship between the bearing pin 2| and the mask M may be obtained in a slightly modified manner, as is shown by reference to Figures 8 and 9. In such a case the mask M is shown as formed with a square shaped opening 36, and the pins 23 of the bearing pin 2| are replaced by a squared formation shown at 31 that is complemental to the squared opening 36. Thus when the square part 3'! on the under side of the head 22 is received in the opening 36, rotation between these parts is prohibited.

In. the embodiment of the invention above described it is evident that the adjustment in the frictional resistance aiforded by the device is obtained by rotating the knurled flange 34 which is disposed within the shield. In the modification of the invention shown in Figures 6 and 7 the adjustment is obtained from the exterior of the shield. In this form of the invention a bearing member 39 is shown as having a head 39 that engages the outer wall of the mask M, and imthus non-rotatably positioned with respect to the mask M.

Adjacent the squared portion 49 the bearing member 38 is formed with a cylindrical portion 4| that extends through an opening in the washer 25 and also into the. opening 26 in the foot portion IS. The bearing member 38 also includes a squared portion 42 that extends into the complementally shaped opening in the bushing 29.

The bearing member 38 is formed with a bore designated 43, and extending into the bore 43 is a threaded pin 44 having a head 45 that is provided with a slot 46 which constitutes means for rotating the pin 44. The assembly of the device shown in Figures 6 and '7 also includes the spring 32 and a bushing 41 that corresponds to the bushing 33 in the previously described mechanism. This bushing 4'! is flanged, as shown at 48, and is provided with a threaded bore at 49 for receiving the threaded pin 44.

The various parts of the assembly of Figures 6 and 7 are assembled in the same manner as above described in connection with the mechanism of Figures 3 and 4, with the spring 32 being contained between the bushings 29 and 41. The tension offered by the spring to establish a frictional resistance depends on the distance between these bushings, and this distance may be varied by rotating the stem 44 through the medium of the slot 45 in the head 45.

The above described mechanism of Figures 6 and 7 avails of the squared opening 36 as the means for establishing the non-rotative re1ationship between the bearing pin 38 and the mask M.

However, this arrangement may be replaced by availing of the small recesses 20 at each side of the main opening, as shown in Figure 5, and employing a bearing member, shown at 50 in Figure 10, which includes pins on the under face of the head 52. In all other respects this bearing member 5|! is similar to the bearing member 38 shown in Figures 6 and '7.

While preferred specific embodiments of the invention are hereinbefore set forth it is to be clearly understood that I am not to' be limited to the exact constructions illustrated and described, because various modifications of these details may be provided in putting the invention into practice within the purview of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A protective device of the character described comprising a headband adapted to be mounted on the head of a wearer, said headband consisting of a strip adapted to fit around the head of a wearer, and a cross piece connected at each end to the said strip and adapted to extend over the top of the head of a wearer, a bracket strip anchored at one end to the cross piece and having its free end in spaced relation to the headband, a shield pivotally mounted on the free end of said bracket strip, and a friction device interposed between the free end of said bracket strip and the headband.

2. A protective device of the character described comprising a headband adapted tobe mounted on the head of a wearer, said headband consisting of a strip adapted to fit around the head of a wearer, and a cross piece connected at each end to the said strip and adapted to extend over the top of the head of a wearer, a bracket strip anchored at one end to the cross piece and having its free end in spaced relation to the headband, a shield and bearing member for pivotally mounting the shield on the free end of said bracket strip, and a device for establishing frictional resistance disposed about said bearing pin and interposed between the free end of said bracket strip and the headband.

3. In a protective device of the character described including a headband and a shield pivotally mounted on the headband, a device for establishing frictional resistance to pivotal movement of the shield with respect to the headband comprising a bearing pin extending through an opening in the shield and in non-rotative relationship with respect thereto, said bearing pin also extending'through an opening in a part of the headband, a bushing non-rotatably carried by said bearing pin, a secondbushing threaded on the end of said bearing pin, and a spring interposed between said bushings, said spring exerting a tendency urging the first mentioned bushing into engagement with the said part of the headband.

4. In a protective device of the character described including a shield and a headband having bracket strips the free ends of which are spaced from the headband and pivotally connected to the shield, a friction device comprising a bearing p-in extending through an opening in the mask, means for establishing non-rotative relationship between the bearing pin and the mask, said bearing pin also extending through an opening in the bracket strip, a washer interposed between the bracket strip and the mask, a flanged bushing non-rotatably carried by the bearing pin and engaging the bracket strip, a second flanged bushing threaded on the end of said bearing pin, and a coil spring interposed between said flanged bushings.

5. In a protective device of the character described including a shield and a headband having bracket strips the free ends of which are spaced from the headband and pivotally connected to the shield, a friction device comprising a bearing member having a bore, said bearing member extending through an opening in the shield, means for establishing a non-rotative relationship between the bearing member and the shield, said bearing member also extending through an opening in the bracket strip, a flanged bushing non-rotatably carried by said bearing member, a threaded pin extending through the bore of said bearing member and therebeyond, a second flanged bushing threaded on said pin and in spaced relation to said first mentioned flanged bushing, and a coil spring interposed between said flanged bushings, and means on said pin for rotating the same.

FREDERICK M. BOWERS. 

